Wireless communication method, wireless communication system, base station, and wireless terminal

• US 10,257,726 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited
• Inventors: Ohta, Yoshiaki, Kawasaki, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Alia, Curtis A
• Application Number:
  US15/052,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20160174092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/345 Interference values signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR] H04B17/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/188 Time-out mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wireless terminal, includes a first transceiver configured to transmit a first type of wireless signal; and a second transceiver configured to transmit a second type of wireless signal; wherein the first transceiver is configured to transmit an indication of interference when interference is detected between the first type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal and to transmit information showing a condition of each of the first and second types of wireless signal with the indication of interference; and the first transceiver is further configured to receive interference control information useable by the terminal in mitigating the detected interference.

Claims

1. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a first transceiver configured to transmit a first type of wireless signal, to a base station; and

a second transceiver configured to transmit a second type of wireless signal to another communication device; and

a controller to detect interference among at least one of the first type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal and to prepare information configured to show whether the first type of wireless signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the first and second type of wireless signals are interfered with;

wherein the first transceiver is configured to transmit, to the base station, an indication showing that the controller detects the interference, the indication including the prepared information; and

the first transceiver is further configured to receive, from the base station, interference control information, the interference control information corresponding to an interference control operation executed by the wireless terminal to mitigate the detected interference, wherein the interference control information from the base station is based on the information configured to show whether the first type of wireless signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the first and second type of wireless signals are interfered with.

2. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the first type of wireless signal is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) type of wireless signal, and the wireless terminal further comprises a controller coupled to the first transceiver, the controller being configured to measure a signal level of the first type of wireless signal after the first transceiver transmits the indication showing that the controller detects interference.

3. The wireless terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one antenna coupled to at least one of the first and second transceivers.

4. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the first type of wireless signal is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal is one of the group consisting of:

a wireless local area network type signal, a Wi-Fi type of signal, and a short-wavelength UHF radio wave signal in an industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz (Bluetooth®

) type of signal, and wherein the controller prepares the information to show that both the LTE type and the second type of wireless signals are interfered with.

5. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the first type of wireless signal is transmitted in a specific frequency range allocated to the wireless terminal within a range of frequencies allocable for the first type of wireless signal and wherein the second type of wireless signal is transmitted in a specific frequency range allocated to the wireless terminal within a range of frequencies allocable for the second type of wireless signal, the range of frequencies allocable for the first type of wireless signal and the range of frequencies allocable for the second type of wireless signal being different.

6. The wireless terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller coupled to the first and second transceivers, the controller being adapted to detect an occurrence of interference between the first type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal.

7. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the indication showing that the controller detects interference is an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference.

8. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the interference control information contains information indicating a selection of one of the group consisting of:

a time division multiplexing (TDM) interference reduction arrangement and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) interference reduction arrangement.

9. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the interference control information indicates interference reduction is achievable by modifying a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration employed by the wireless terminal.

10. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the first type of wireless signal is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) type of wireless signal and the indication showing that the controller detects interference is transmitted as a radio resource control (RRC) signal, and wherein at least one of the first and second transceivers suspend transmission when mitigation action responsive to the received interference control information fails to reduce the interference to within prescribed acceptable limits.

11. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the interference control information is further based on a preference among the first type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal.

12. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a first transceiver configured to transmit, to a base station, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) type of wireless signal;

a second transceiver configured to transmit, to another communication device, a second type of wireless signal; and

a controller configured to detect interference among at least one of the LTE type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal and to prepare information configured to show whether the LTE signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the LTE and the second type of wireless signals are interfered with,

wherein the first transceiver is further configured to receive, from the base station, interference control information, the interference control information corresponding to an interference control operation executed by the wireless terminal to mitigate the detected interference wherein the interference control information is based on the information configured to show whether the LTE signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the LTE type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal are interfered with.

13. The wireless terminal of claim 12, wherein the second type of wireless signal is one of the group consisting of:

a wireless local area network type signal, a Wi-Fi type of signal, and a short-wavelength UHF radio wave signal in an industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz (Bluetooth®

) type of signal, and wherein the controller prepares the information to show that both the LTE type and the second type of wireless signals are interfered with.

14. The wireless terminal of claim 12, wherein the wireless terminal further comprises a controller coupled to the first transceiver, the controller being configured to measure a signal level of the LTE after the controller detects interference.

15. A base station, comprising:

an integrated circuit configured to transmit a Long Term Evolution (LTE) type of wireless communication signals to a wireless terminal and to receive wireless communication signals of the LTE type transmitted from the wireless terminal, the LTE type of wireless communication signals using a first bandwidth and a first wireless protocol; and

a controller coupled to the integrated circuit and configured to receive from the wireless terminal an indication of interference when interference is detected between the LTE type of wireless signal and a second type of wireless signal and information configured to show whether the LTE type of wireless signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the LTE type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal are interfered with and wherein the controller is adapted to transmit towards the wireless terminal interference control information, the interference control information corresponding to an interference control operation executed by the wireless terminal to mitigate the detected interference, wherein the interference control information is based on the information configured to show whether the LTE type of wireless signal is interfered with, whether the second type of wireless signal is interfered with, and whether both the LTE type of wireless signal and the second type of wireless signal are interfered with.

16. The base station of claim 15, wherein the interference control information indicates an arrangement to control the interference based on one of the group consisting of:

time division multiplexing (TDM) interference reduction and frequency division multiplexing (FDM) interference reduction.

17. The base station of claim 15, wherein the information shows that both the LTE type and the second type of wireless signals are interfered with.